Four Tops – “Bernadette,” Pop # 4, R&B # 3 By Joel Francis Levi Stubbs’ performance on “Bernadette” cements his status as Motown’s greatest male vocalist. The magnificent feats Stubbs laid down on the Four Tops previous pair of singles, “Reach Out” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love” reaches an impassioned crescendo on “Bernadette.” [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Norman Whitfield’
Four Tops – “Bernadette”
Posted in Motown, Song Review, tagged Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Four Tops, Freda Payne, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Honey Comb, Levi Stubbs, Norman Whitfield, the Supremes on August 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Temptations – “(I Know) I’m Losing You”
Posted in Motown, tagged Cornelius Grant, David Ruffin, Every Picture Tells a Story, Funk Brothers, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Norman Whitfield, Rare Earth, Rod Stewart, soul music, the Faces, The Temptations on June 17, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The Temptations – “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” Pop # 8, R&B # 1 By Joel Francis The list of Motown songs based around a guitar riff is a short one, but this masterpiece should be at the top of that one and several others. Producer Norman Whitfield wrote the song with Edward Holland of [...]
Temptations – “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Bruce Springsteen, David Ruffin, Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Funk Brothers, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, James Jamerson, Jimmy Ruffin, Mary Wilson, Norman Whitfield, Paul Riser, Pistol Allen, Smokey Robinson, Supremes, Temptations, The Miracles on May 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Temptations – “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” Pop #3, R&B #1 By Joel Francis After teaming to give the Tempts a No. 1 R&B hit with “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland paired again to deliver “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” which fared even better. The song was the Temptations’ third [...]
The Temptations – “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Count Basie, David Ruffin, Hitsville U.S.A., James Brown, Norman Whitfield, Rick Astley, Rolling Stones, Smokey Robinson, Temptations on March 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Temptations – “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” Pop #13, R&B #1 By Joel Francis If you’re not hooked in the first five seconds of this song, you haven’t been paying attention. All the elements attack immediately: the drum roll coupled with the insistent clanging cymbal, the knuckle-roll piano riff and, of course, David Ruffin’s [...]
Velvelettes – “He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’”
Posted in Motown, tagged Bananarama, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Norman Whitfield, The Temptations, the Velvelettes on October 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Velvelettes – “He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’,” Pop #64, R&B #21 By Joel Francis The Velvelettes’ final single for Motown was their most successful effort. Like their previous hit, “Needle In A Haystack,” this is another Norman Whitfield production. Unlike the house “assembly line” production on Whitfield’s earlier effort, this song bears more of his [...]
Velvelettes – “Needle in a Haystack”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Hitsville U.S.A., music, Norman Whitfield, soul music, The Temptations, Velvelettes on October 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Velvelettes – “Needle in a Haystack,” Pop #45 The real action in “Needle in a Haystack” is happening away from the microphones and behind the glass. This song was the first single the late Norman Whitfield’s produced for Motown. Whitfield got his start at the label as a songwriter, co-writing Marvin Gaye’s hit “Pride and [...]
Review: The Temptations and Four Tops
Posted in Kansas City Star, Motown, review, tagged Hitsville U.S.A., Norman Whitfield, soul music, Starlight Theater, The Four Tops, The Temptations on September 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Above: Are they still tempting? “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” from March, 2008. By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Halfway into his band’s set Saturday night at Starlight, Otis Williams, the last living original member of the Temptations, dedicated the evening’s performance to the late Motown producer Norman Whitfield. It was fitting. Whitfield wrote [...]
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